Talk:Fad diet/Dumping ground

Trimmed content/sources

 * In History section: Although this diet (banting) was deemed unscientific at the time due to a lack of a proposal of a scientifically sound mechanism, Dr Frederick Banting, a distant relative, discovered insulin as one of the first treatments and mechanisms for diabetic individuals, receiving the Nobel Prize for this discovery, and giving the patent for free.
 * A primary study on the conditions for sustained weight loss after following a fad diet.
 * In Health claims evaluations section: Supplementary products accompanying some fad diets should be approached with precaution, as these are largely unregulated, and particularly online purchase of weight loss supplements, which do not require an independent health check despite known contraindications. In the USA, the advertisement and labeling of dietary supplements is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and Food and Drug Administration.
 * In History: The 20th century also saw the faint appearance of other fad diets and related products in the USA, such as a soap which "never fails to reduce flesh", a salt to "wash away your fat", laxative pills that only resulted in dehydration and an exercise machine to "jiggle the pounds". Some diet theories went beyond food, such as breatharianism, an ancient belief which claims that food and water are unnecessary and that the mind can subsist on spirituality and sunlight alone, although the prolonged fasting eventually leads to starvation and devotees have been spotted eating and drinking in hiding.
 * In History: Gayelord Hauser was a famous food faddist who promoted five "wonder foods": blackstrap molasses, brewer's yeast, skimmed milk, wheat germ and yogurt. In 1951, Hauser's book Look Younger, Live Longer, made claims rejected by the FDA such as blackstrap molasses could "add 5 years to your life".
 * Another claim is that dieting may lead to compulsive or binge eating, which is an extrapolation of the results of a post-war famine study, where 19 prisoners of war were observed during their rehabilitation with unlimited access to food, and found they tended to indulge in binge eating, which may be explained by other factors (fear of death, illnesses and injuries).

Last update: 21:21, 20 November 2019 (UTC)

Additional content/sources to add

 * The History section could be much more expanded, in fact this seems the most interesting and well studied side of fad diets, here are a few excellent refs (the refs already in the History section could also be explored more exhaustively):        Also check this timeline with references:.


 * Fad therapies: A somewhat related concept: fad therapies. Here is a nice review on children, where we learn that it is estimated that 21% of the children in USA who receive medical care also use alternative therapies!


 * Here's a good but old resource of the American Dietary Association published in 2001 advising physicians a list of sources to consult about (fad) diets. It's a bit old, the references might be outdated, but it might be worth checking, maybe at least for the history section?


 * A highly interesting notion that should be covered if a better source could be found, is about health halos, which suggests that people are more likely to underestimate the high-caloric content of fast food when fast-food restaurants claim to be healthy. Probably the same effect happens for fad diets. Would be cool to find a reliable source covering this. Maybe this 2015 review can be adequate?


 * Less quality sources (old or primary), but still interesting:


 * A review specifically stating that (fad) diets that work for weight loss do so because of calorie restriction (whereas previous studies suggest that but do not claim as strongly), but seems not yet published (apart from prepublication), to watch depending on where (what journal) it lands.


 * A source on dietary supplements, some economic info on their market and their potential reduction of healthcare cost (to cross check against other sources, might be biased).


 * Another source to exploit.


 * Check if some of the sources of this (non usuable) article can be used:.


 * "How culture and society influence healthy eating", source not usable per se, but its reference might be.


 * Fads vs trends, interesting blog post but need an adequate source.

Last update: 18:51, 20 November 2019 (UTC)